Computers in Medical Education 2. Use of a Computer Package to Supplement the Clinical Experience in a Surgical Clerkship: An Objective Evaluation

Abstract

Background: Student teaching of surgery has been devolved from the university in an effort to increase and broaden undergraduate clinical experience. In order to ensure uniformity of learning we have defined learning objectives and provided a computerbased package to supplement clinical teaching. A study was undertaken to evaluate the place of computer-based learning in a clinical environment. Methods: Twelve modules were provided for study during a 6-week attachment. These covered clinical problems related to cardiology, neurosurgery and gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Eighty-four fourth-year students undertook a pre-and post-test assessment on these three topics as well as acute abdominal pain. No extra learning material on the latter topic was provided during the attachment. Results: While all students showed significant improvement in performance in the post-test assessment, those who had access to the computer material performed significantly better than did the controls. Within the topics, students in both groups performed equally well on the post-test assessment of acute abdominal pain but the control group's performance was significantly lacking on the topic of gastrointestinal haemorrhage, suggesting that the bulk of learning on this subject came from the computer material and little from the clinical attachment. Conclusions: This type of learning resource can be used to supplement the student's clinical experience and at the same time monitor what they learn during clinical clerkships and identify areas of weakness.

Electronic learning can facilitate student performance in undergraduate surgical education: a prospective observational study

“…A negative attitude to computers and CAL may not be an obstruction to successful learning however, as knowledge is increased by usage of a CAL programme even among medical students who reported negative attitudes to computers and CAL[5] Not every report of CAL in medical education is positive and it appears that the style of teaching and stage of clinical development of the student is important to the outcome[9,10] While problem based teaching and clinical simulation are very effective methods of CAL in clinical years, it appears that in the early years of basic science instruction in medicine, a more didactic CAL delivery of material is superior to a problem based presentation[10,11]…”

The impact of the Virtual Ophthalmology Clinic on medical students’ learning: a randomised controlled trial

“…25 Furthermore, assessment methods used in ophthalmoscopy have shown better outcomes with similarities to real-life clinical activities compared with methods that use traditional model eyes. 26 Improved student learning outcomes in ophthalmology have also been found with the implementation of CAL programs.…”

Live or computerized simulation of clinical encounters: Do clinicians work up patient cases differently?

“…Other studies assess the effectiveness of computer-aided learning to increase specific knowledge and Live or computerized simulation of clinical encounters 5 problem-solving skills in various fields (e.g. blood gases [11], emergency [1] or surgery [2,12]). The present study differs from the existing literature by exploring the process of data collection related to the simulation methods.…”